The trailer for this movie says it is fourteen years since the original Incredibles debuted. That must be true but because at that time I had neither children nor grandchildren of an age to watch it I missed its appearance altogether. Probably four or five years ago I read that it was probably the only Disney film of recent vintage without a truly ponderous social justice taint so I took it out and liked it. I watched it with the grandkids and they really liked it too. But when I saw the coming attractions for the sequel I was annoyed to find a bunch of blather about Mr. Incredible being relegated to Mr. Mom and Elasti-Girl (Mrs. Incredible) being the heroic superhero who earns the daily bread. And so, it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I took Camera Girl and the two older grandsons to the dying local movie palace to see the film.

Well, my fears were unnecessary. The movie is good. By the necessity of a sequel being somewhat derivative by its very nature Incredibles 2 may not rate as highly by some measures and to some audiences. I found it extremely enjoyable. Aside from any measures of technical or visual excellence the story line is meager as expected for this genre but acceptable, the main characters retain their original charm and the interactions between the family members defines the heart of the movie. It is a celebration of the traditional nuclear family. Mr. Incredible is a 1950s Dad. Elasti-Girl could be Donna Reed and the kids are the usual bundle of sibling rivalry, growing pains and mischief but whenever the chips are down the family pulls together to save the day and each other.

I’ll keep this short. If you have kids or grandkids bring them to this movie. And if you don’t, then go see it yourself. You’ll have a good time. My personal favorite scene in the movie is Mr. Incredible coming to terms with his kid’s “new math” homework. His anguished cry of, “Why would they change math?”, brought back such memories of exactly the same scene in my home that I probably laughed out loud in the theater like an idiot. Maybe there is still some hope for Disney. I mean I doubt it, but at least they didn’t alter the characters. They’re still who they were and still a lot of fun.